OT - Reuter's health article : Why are preemies more likely to develop autism?

October 20, 2009

Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:31pm EDT

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Researchers have long seen signs of autism in

children born prematurely, and some studies have suggested that such signs can

develop into full-blown autism in childhood. A study out Monday suggests that

complications during pregnancy and early life may be responsible for this early

risk.

It's unclear just how many children born prematurely will develop autism. The

study, in the November issue of Pediatrics, included 1216 children with autistic

disorders and 6080 without.

When Dr. ne Buchmayer and colleagues from the Karolinska Institute,

Stockholm, took various factors into account, children who were born at 31 weeks

of pregnancy or earlier were about 1.5 times as likely to develop autism

compared to babies born at full term. Those born from 32 to 36 weeks were about

1.3 times as likely to develop the condition.

However, when they took complications of pregnancy and early life into account,

there were no significant differences between babies born at 36 weeks and

earlier and those born later, suggesting that the complications themselves, and

not the prematurity, were the link.

For example, preeclampsia - a life-threatening condition marked by high blood

pressure, fluid retention and protein in urine -- was associated with greater

than 50 percent increased risk of an autistic disorder in children.

Other complications linked to an increased risk: babies born small for the

length of pregnancy, low infant blood sugar, birth defects, and infant seizures.

The also authors point out that the majority of children with autism were born

at term, and call for research into whether preventing the complications of

birth could prevent the disorder.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, November 2009.

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